


together furever

by lesmiserablol



Series: not kitten around [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cat Cafés, Cats, Established Relationship, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Surprises, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:49:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27611632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesmiserablol/pseuds/lesmiserablol
Summary: Druk is pacing back and forth on Sokka’s side of the bed, meowing for food. Usually he paces across both of their bodies until one of them caves and gets up, but Druk has taken to hanging out on Sokka’s side in his absence.“It’s because he misses me. I told you I’m his favorite,” Sokka had teased when Zuko told him this over the phone.“Keep telling yourself that,” Zuko had scoffed, but he knew it was probably close to the truth. He couldn’t find himself to be irritated about it, though. Sokka is pretty great, and he’s also Zuko’s favorite, and Zuko also misses him.“Trust me, needy cats with one good eye and a heart full of love are just drawn to me. The evidence is overwhelming.”Zuko had narrowed his eyes at that. “You’re not just talking about Druk now, are you?”(in which Sokka shows he's still really good at surprising Zuko)
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: not kitten around [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1982770
Comments: 107
Kudos: 491





	together furever

**Author's Note:**

> If you are here and haven't read the first two parts, you'll still be able to understand what's going on, but read the rest of the series if you want more Zukka Cat Café in your life <3
> 
> Anyway I couldn't stop smiling the entire time I wrote this. Enjoy!!

Zuko wakes up the same way he has most mornings since he and Sokka adopted Druk a little over a year ago — with four heavy paws stepping across his stomach, two at a time, before disappearing.

“Ugh, Druk,” he mutters, pretending to be irritated even as he reaches out blindly to pet the cat. His hand is met with empty sheets and he frowns, peeking his good eye open to see him sniffing the left side of the bed. 

Sokka’s side of the bed had been left neatly made with the sheets tucked in nicely for all of seven hours after he left for his summer study abroad trip. Zuko had dropped him off at the airport, moped at the nearest coffee shop (if he went to the Jasmine Dragon his uncle would worry, and if he went to the cat café he would miss Sokka too much), and then went to work before coming home and making a beeline for his bedroom. He told Sokka he would be okay without him. And it was true! It was only three months, he could do long distance, he could do anything for Sokka. It was an amazing opportunity for him to spend the summer before he graduated college doing a study abroad program and Zuko was so proud of him and so excited for the experiences he would have in Spain. But he also needed a few days to adjust to his absence. And that meant his plans for the evening involved a gallon of his favorite ice cream, a spoon, and snuggling his cat on the couch as he watched the first thing that Netflix recommended to him. 

When he had walked into their room in search of Druk, he noticed two things: Druk curled up in the middle of the bed, and a piece of paper on Sokka’s pillow. He frowned as he stepped closer, realizing that his boyfriend had left a poorly drawn self portrait with a note scribbled under it that said “Don’t miss me too much— I’m right here!”

Zuko had stared at the drawing and smiled. And then he had burst into tears, crawled into Sokka’s side of the bed, and fell asleep with his face pressed in his pillow, breathing in the scent of his shampoo.

But that was almost two months ago, Zuko had stopped crying after the first few days. Once he adjusted, he was okay. There was only a six hour time difference between Toronto and Madrid, so he and Sokka texted constantly and video chatted for at least an hour every day, sometimes longer. Sometimes they just had each other on the phone as they did their own thing, Zuko rereading one of his favorite books and Sokka using the whiteboard in his dorm room to figure out some complicated engineering formula that he would then show off to Zuko. It was just like when they worked together at home. Sokka humming into the quiet, Zuko reading a few of his favorite lines out loud, Sokka asking what he should eat for dinner. Even when there was literally an ocean dividing them, they found ways to stay connected.

Druk is pacing back and forth on Sokka’s side of the bed, meowing for food. Usually he paces across both of their bodies until one of them caves and gets up, but Druk has taken to hanging out on Sokka’s side in his absence. 

“It’s because he misses me. I told you I’m his favorite,” Sokka had teased when Zuko told him this over the phone. 

“Keep telling yourself that,” Zuko had scoffed, but he knew it was probably close to the truth. He couldn’t find himself to be irritated about it, though. Sokka is pretty great, and he’s also Zuko’s favorite, and Zuko _also_ misses him.

“Trust me, needy cats with one good eye and a heart full of love are just drawn to me. The evidence is overwhelming.”

Zuko had narrowed his eyes at that. “You’re not just talking about Druk now, are you?”

Sokka’s laughter rings in Zuko’s ears and he smiles to himself as he gets out of bed, following Druk to the door. 

His phone starts ringing before he steps out of the room and he doubles back quickly, the sound of “Never Gonna Give You Up” leading him to his nightstand. Sokka had set his ringtone to that as a joke when they first started dating, but Zuko still didn't have it in him to change it.

Sokka’s face fills the screen as he answers and Zuko mirrors his wide smile. These last two weeks they hadn’t had a chance to talk as much as usual while Sokka was busy with projects and midterms, so he's grateful for the little moments they're able to find together.

“Buenos días, ¡mi amor!” Sokka greets enthusiastically. He's walking out of a building on campus, almost running down the steps before slowing his pace when he reaches the sidewalk.

“Good morning. Or, I guess, good afternoon for you,” Zuko laughs. “Your accent is getting better.”

“¡Gracias!” Sokka beams. “I’ve been practicing.”

“And here I thought you were going to focus more on learning your course materials than a new language?”

“Pssh, come on, life is too short to not learn a fifth language.”

“Fifth?” Zuko raises his eyebrow. 

“Sure! Inuktitut, English, French, Japanese, and now Spanish.” 

Zuko rolls his eyes. Their two years of French when they were teenagers hardly counted. At least, not for Zuko. He guesses Sokka has always been good at picking up and retaining everything he learns, though. “I didn’t know you were fluent in Japanese.”

“I’m still learning, I have a good teacher though. Aishiteru!"

"I love you, too." Zuko’s smile widens. “How was class?” 

“It was great! We got our project grades back, and let’s just say I nailed it,” Sokka grins proudly at the camera. 

“Of course you did,” Zuko says, voice soft. “Congrats, I’m proud of you. You should celebrate! Treat yourself to something special.”

“I thought the same thing. That’s why I called you,” Sokka shoots back quickly, and Zuko laughs, his cheeks turning pink. 

Zuko jumps when Druk meows from the living room and he guiltily follows the sound out of the bedroom. “Whoops, I was about to feed Druk when you called, he might be upset with you for distracting me.”

“He’ll get over it, he loves me that much. Right Druk?” 

Zuko bends down to put Druk’s face on the screen. The cat sniffs his phone curiously and Sokka instantly starts talking in the baby voice he reserves for him. Zuko recognizes some of the terms of endearment in Inuktitut that Sokka taught him, and he laughs when Druk stands there for a moment and then moves on to the food bowl. He opens the bag of cat food and scoops some into the bowl and Druk immediately starts eating as Zuko redirects his attention to the phone. 

“I hope everyone on campus heard you baby talking our cat just now,” he says. 

“I hope so too!” Sokka retorts. “If anyone wants to see a picture of him, I’ll gladly show! World’s cutest cat. Or, he’s tied for the cutest at least. My boyfriend is pretty high up in the rankings too.”

Zuko narrows his eyes. “Don’t make me hang up on you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Sokka responds confidently. 

“You’re right,” Zuko tells him, making his way over to the couch. He glances at the time on his screen — he still has an hour left until he needs to leave for work, he’ll talk to Sokka some more before jumping in the shower. 

“Speaking of cats,” Sokka starts, raising his voice to be heard as he crosses the street, surrounded by a crowd of people. “When’s the last time you visited our cat café?”

“It’s not _our_ cat café,” Zuko responds. 

“It practically is. If Jin’s wife got a sudden job opportunity across the world and she only had a week to find new owners, you know for a fact that we would be the first people she would call,” Sokka tells him. 

“You’ve mentioned this before, are you planning on calling her wife with a fake job offer if only to prove yourself right?” Zuko asks curiously. 

“I would be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it,” Sokka winks. “But you’re changing the subject.”

Zuko sighs. “I still haven’t gone. I know I said I would go with Mai last week, but I changed our plans last minute.”

“Zuko,” Sokka says sadly. 

“I can’t go there without you! It’s our thing! I don’t know if Jin would even let me in if I came alone. I don’t think she would recognize me.” Zuko forces a laugh, and by the look on Sokka’s face, he notices. 

“Babe, you should go, I really think that being around the cats will make you feel better. Do it for me?” 

Zuko sighs as Sokka looks into the camera, giving his best puppy dog eyes and making Zuko's stomach do cartwheels. He quickly takes a screenshot before Sokka can drop the expression. 

“Okay, I think I can manage that,” he says eventually. 

“Great! You should go tomorrow,” Sokka tells him immediately as he steps onto his bus. 

Zuko raises an eyebrow. “Why tomorrow? Katara and I are getting breakfast together.”

Sokka looks distracted and he doesn’t answer for a few moments as he stares at his screen. He tries not to text anyone during their calls unless it’s important, so Zuko waits patiently until Sokka redirects his attention. 

“Sorry, that was my roommate,” he smiles apologetically. “Maybe you can go after breakfast?”

Zuko considers it for a moment, mentally running through his schedule for the weekend. He didn't plan anything else for Saturday in case he ended up spending more time with Katara, so he can probably manage to make time to—

“Oh,” he says, looking at the new text notification appearing across the top of his screen. “Katara just canceled, she asked if we can get breakfast on Sunday, instead.”

“What a coincidence!” Sokka beams, and something in his tone has Zuko feeling suspicious for a moment, but he keeps talking and Zuko forgets about it almost instantly. “I’m free tomorrow evening at 5 my time, if you want to go around then and call me? It’ll be like I’m not even gone!”

Zuko grins. “Yeah, that sounds nice. I’ll be there right at 11 and I’ll text you, okay?”

“Okay! I’m looking forward to it, so you better not back out again!” Sokka tells him. 

Zuko laughs. “I won’t,” he says quietly. “Are you still on the bus? I thought you got off on the first stop.”

“I’m meeting someone for lunch,” Sokka answers quickly. “And you should be getting ready, so I’ll let you go. Text me when you’re off of work!” 

“I will,” Zuko says, drinking in Sokka’s smile over the screen. “I love you.”

“I love you too, babe! Have a great day!” 

Sokka waves at the phone and Zuko waves back until Sokka hangs up and the screen goes to his wallpaper, a picture of Sokka posing with a stray cat from his third week in Spain. He puts his phone down and sighs, his chest aching. As much as he loves calling Sokka, he always feels the ache of his loss stronger than ever immediately after they hang up. It had been worse lately since they hadn't been able to call as much. 

Druk wanders over to him and he scratches his ears absentmindedly. It’ll be good to be back at the cat café, he tells himself. It’ll be nice to be there with Sokka on the phone. He really has missed going there, his last time there was the day before Sokka left, and he doesn’t know if he can wait five and a half more weeks until he gets home to go back. 

At least, that’s what he thought yesterday. Now, standing in front of the cat café, the hollowness in his chest he has felt since hanging up with Sokka only grows. He had texted Sokka after he left work but the message didn’t get delivered until the middle of the night, when Sokka texted back and said, _sorry, my phone died! i’ll talk to you at 5!_

Zuko opens their messages and sends another text before pocketing his phone.

_I’m here now._

Jin is beaming when Zuko comes in, and he wonders if she saw him outside because she doesn't look surprised to see him. 

“Zuko! Long time no see!”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Zuko smiles sheepishly. “I didn’t want to come here without Sokka.” 

His phone starts ringing then and he chuckles. “Perfect timing. Here, you can say hi to him.”

He stands next to her to answer the phone and Sokka smiles, then he starts waving once he notices Jin. “Jin! Hi! How’s it going?”

“Great! We have some really cute cats in now, I can’t wait for you to meet them!”

“Neither can I! I’ll see you soon, Jin!” Sokka winks. 

“Yes, you’ll be here before I know it!” she answers with a goodbye wave, and Zuko smiles at her when she hands him some cat treats and lets him inside the cat room.

The room is empty other than the small creatures taking up the space, which is unsurprising with the temperature outside being so nice. A few cats are using the peace and quiet to get some sleep, stretched across sunny spots coming in through the window or curled on top of cushions. Some of the smaller kittens are playing, chasing balls or batting a noisy toy to hear it ring. Zuko bends down to scratch one behind its ears, and he grins. Okay, maybe being here without Sokka isn't so bad.

“Let me see the room!” Sokka says, and Zuko turns his attention to his phone to switch the camera around. 

“Wait,” he pauses, “Where are you? Are you outside? It looks brighter than it usually does at this time of day.” 

“Yeah, well, the weather’s nice!” Sokka says, holding the phone closer so Zuko can't see his surroundings like he normally does. “Clear skies.”

“Same over here,” Zuko says. 

“Did I call for you to tell me about the weather?” Sokka teases.

Zuko rolls his eyes. "Tell me you're almost home, at least. I don't want you to get so distracted you run into another lamppost."

"That was one time!" Sokka whines. "But yes, I am almost home."

Zuko flips the camera around, turning slowly to show Sokka the room full of cats. He’s distantly aware that there are new cat toys and new armchairs for the customers scattered around, but he’s too distracted watching Sokka’s face light up as he takes it in. Too distracted to notice that he isn't as alone as he thought until Sokka gasps, “Is that Aang and Katara?”

“What?” Zuko tears his eyes away from Sokka and he’s startled to see Aang and Katara are, in fact, tucked in the corner of the room, grinning widely at him. He walks over and they stand up from their armchairs and hug him in greeting. “Hey! What are you guys doing here? I thought you were busy this morning, Katara?”

She smiles and exchanges a look with Aang. “I wasn't really, last week I said we should do breakfast just so you wouldn't make other plans for today."

"Sokka wanted us to surprise you so we could be here when-" Aang cuts himself off when Katara elbows his side, and he rubs the back of his neck. "Uh, when you got here! So you wouldn't be alone.” 

“Let me say hi!” Sokka calls from his phone, and Zuko flips the camera around again to show him standing with the other two. 

“Hey guys!” he calls, a car honking in the distance. 

“Hi Sokka!” they say in unison. 

Zuko frowns. “Seriously, where are you? This is the quietest I’ve ever heard the streets of Madrid.”

“Oh! I didn’t tell you? I’m not in Madrid!” Sokka says, pausing to open a door and walk inside a building. “With midterms over I have the first few days of next week off from class, so I decided to take a trip!”

“Where did you-“

“Hi Sokka!”

Zuko’s heart stops. Sokka is still holding the phone close so Zuko can only see his face, but whoever just greeted him sounded suspiciously like Jin. 

His mind works in slow motion. He registers Katara and Aang giggling over his shoulder, he sees Sokka’s grin grow even wider on his phone screen, and then out of the corner of his eye he sees the door to the cat room open again. 

His eyes snap up to watch as Sokka walks in, putting his phone in his pocket and giving Zuko a little wave. “Hey, babe.”

One second, Zuko is frozen in place, and the next, he’s throwing his phone toward Aang before he can drop it out of shock and launching himself at his boyfriend. His wonderful, perfect boyfriend, who he hasn’t seen in almost two months, who is right here, right now, and Zuko _can’t believe it_ but as Sokka catches him in his arms he has no doubt in his mind that this is happening. Sokka’s warm, and his arms are so tight around Zuko that it’s hard to breathe, but he’s not complaining. Zuko buries his face in Sokka’s neck and inhales his scent. Having the bottle of cologne that Zuko stole from him to remember his smell is one thing. Having the real thing in front of him is something else entirely. 

He wants to say something smooth, or really romantic, but Sokka’s hand moves to play with his hair and he starts crying. 

“Hey,” Sokka says softly, rubbing his back with his other hand. “Don’t go crying on me, you’re going to make me cry.”

Zuko laughs wetly, sobbing even harder, because he missed Sokka _so much_ , and now he’s here, and he has never been happier. He slowly pulls back and Sokka’s hands move to cup his cheeks, wiping away his tears with his thumb. Zuko’s hands find Sokka’s waist, holding him close. 

“You’re here,” he says, voice cracking. 

Sokka smiles, nodding excitedly. “I’m here.”

“How did— when did you —“ 

“I brought my suitcase to campus yesterday and then I took the bus straight to the airport. I got here late, stayed with Aang and Katara, and...now I’m here! I wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Yeah, well, you succeeded there,” Zuko laughs, more tears spilling out. 

“What did I say about no crying?” Sokka says, blinking away the wetness in his own eyes. “You’re going to make this harder.”

“Make what harder?”

Sokka clears his throat, pulling his hands away from Zuko’s face. One hand grabs one of Zuko’s while the other rests in the pocket of his pants. 

“Zuko, I love you. I’ve known that for a long time, and I know I will keep loving you forever. I’ve been busy and happy these last few weeks, but I’ve also missed you so, so much. I kept thinking about you, how you would’ve loved all the art museums I saw, how I wanted to hear your witty comments during whatever play I went to. It just reminded me of how much I love being with you all the time.

"And then when I saw this in Barcelona last month, I knew I had to get it for you. It planted an idea in my mind that I haven’t been able to stop thinking about since. I bought this, and the next day I bought a ticket to come back home this week because I don’t think I could’ve physically made myself wait any longer than I had to to give it to you.”

Sokka pulls his hand out of his pocket, holding a small box. Zuko's hand flies to cover his mouth as Sokka lets go of him to open the box, revealing the ring inside. 

“Zuko, this place has been really special to our relationship. It’s where I confessed my feelings to you for the first time, it’s where we adopted our first of many pets together, and now I’m asking if you’ll let it be the place where you agreed to marry me. Zuko, will you do me the honor of becoming my husband?”

Zuko mistakenly thought that when Sokka walked in the room, he would never feel happier. Now, standing here in front of Sokka, with Katara recording the moment on her phone, Aang trying to not sob too loudly next to her, Jin watching by the door, cats playing by their feet, the love of his life in front of him asking him to marry him...

Yeah. Zuko’s never been happier than he has in this moment.

“Of course I will, Sokka,” Zuko says, his voice cracking again as the tears come back full force. Sokka is crying too, and he slips the ring onto his finger before wrapping him in his arms again.

After a few moments Zuko pulls back. Sokka beams at him and Zuko grabs him by the front of his shirt, pulling him close into their first kiss in what feels like ages as their friends clap, Katara cheering loudly. The kiss doesn’t last long as something nudges Zuko’s foot and he breaks the kiss to look down and see a cat toy rolled forward and ran into him. The cat that hit it is frozen a few feet away, watching them both curiously, and Zuko finds Sokka’s hand and intertwines their fingers before guiding them both to sit on the floor in front of her. 

“Sorry, we’re just really excited,” Sokka says, speaking patiently to the cat. “But we can play now, kiss later. We have all the time in the world, don’t we, Zuko?”

He squeezes Zuko's hand and Zuko looks over to see his boyfriend — _fiancé_ — watching him with a soft smile on his face. Zuko thinks of having the next few days to be with Sokka. After that, they’ll say goodbye, but only for a few weeks before Sokka will come back again. And after that they’ll wake up next to each other every day for the rest of their lives, and they’ll adopt more cats, and probably a dog, and maybe even a kid one day, and Zuko will spend every day of his life being Sokka’s and being happy. 

“Yeah,” Zuko answers. “We have all the time in the world.”

**Author's Note:**

> <3
> 
> [tumblr](http://www.bisexuallsokka.tumblr.com)!


End file.
